Fight Show

People fight,
They fight for shade, space, plays,
They fight for teams, chants, gays,
The clarity of it all,
Failure to display,
Enough is enough,
Fame takes it away!
I'm taken away,
And like a stray,
I have the chance to be a freak.

By: Brandy Ruiz

L.A. Live: A Fan

I'm in the trash. The last time I was on her...well, I was stuffed inside a locker with books. She was electric. I'm red, white, and blue. She switched me for a plain black hoodie. She wore me well. It's cold in here. I always kept her warm, cool, and sometimes hot. I'm a L.A. Clippers sweater, but did that matter to her? She jumped a fence. She thought it would camouflage her. And it brought attention that didn't cause attention to the fence hoping shenanigans. She was part of a group, dressed all in black, for that one day. I was discovered and I disappeared. I was an unlucky find. I was a gross sports jock's sweater. I was in a locker. She discovered the game again after college. She sometimes snuck her head in and out but nothing committing her to me, to us. I found out that even though she had trouble finding the right size, she never stopped loving me. I love her back. I was on her back. She's cold now. I can warm her up. I can feel her under my cotton sleeves. She will remain in my imagination, as I know she will one day live in it.

By: Brandy Ruiz

The Reason You Can't Order a Wall Street Newspaper While Living in a Co-op

The reason you can't order a Wall Street newspaper while living in a co-op is because house mates steal. My newspaper was torn apart. I found it scattered on the stripper/eating table/stage to my avail. I dropped out. The pain, surprise, and suffering was unmatched. I could only guess and wonder who it was. I had a paper due. I needed the newspaper article to write my paper. I thought the worst of people. I couldn't take the pressure of not doing that assignment that I dropped out. I dropped out! I challenged myself and thought I could gather what I could and piece together my life that had shattered, the moment housemates gathered around the table waiting for dinner to be served; I felt like the main course. I don't remember if I did the assignment or dropped out without doing it. But I remember the struggle of collecting the paper copy of my newspaper subscription.

I wrote a frantic e-mail on the listserv. Nobody confessed to have done it. Nobody dropped a dime. I expected a response. I was truly upset. I went to UC Berkeley. I stayed in Casa Zimbabwe. It was my home. It was full of satanic assholes, drugs, sex, and cover-ups. It's been five years since I moved back to Los Angeles. It was probably terrible of me to leave college and move out of Casa Zimbabwe, but I was the catch of the day there on a regular basis. Since I was picked on.... If I remember correctly, I messaged about my newspaper arrival before I found it on the stripper stage at dinner time. Yes. That's how it happened. I messaged the listserv and got no response, as I've mentioned.

There's been a long recovery. A medical road I'm on. I didn't seek treatment when I was recommended I did by house mates back when I was in a "safe space". They were on medical paths and thought they could easily influence me to also get on drugs. I didn't. I did two years later though. I'm a diagnosed schizophrenic with diabetes and I'm fully medicated. My medicine is still being tweaked. I was first diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder.

I want to finish out my college year at UCLA. I mean, I can dream.

The Stories We Read and Reality an Essay by Brandy and Megan

The Stories We Read and Reality

The stories I chose are mostly stories about talking animals.

The stories I chose about talking animals show exaggeration and some life choices. One of the stories that I chose is called The Tortoise and the Hare which is known as a tall tale, just as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, as well as Molly Whuppie and The Little Mermaid. A tall tale is an exaggerated story. For example, the Little Mermaid is about a woman, that is a half human and half fish, and she so happens to fall in love with a prince that loves her right back. It’s in these stories that we can find some relationships between the stories we read and real life adventure and expectation

Goldilocks and The Three Little Pigs are stories about talking animals and so is the Tortoise and the Hare. In Goldilocks and the Three Bears (pg 56) in 365 Stories and Rhymes Tales of Magic and Wonder, Goldie Locks is a girl who finds a house that's open and she walks in to find that nobody is home. She sees porridge, a couch, and a bed to sleep in and so she does. She said that each one was either too cold, too hot, just right, or too big too hard, to just the right size. The bears find that somebody trespassed in their home and Goldilocks runs away and never returns.

This reminds me of a story for homework called Molly Whuppie for she also ran away after being caught stealing from magical creatures called giants. There seems to be a connection between the stories and another story called The Three Little Pigs (pg 306) in 365 Stories and Rhymes Tales of Action and Adventure, where a wolf goes home and never returns after trying to blow down the piggies homes. The characters that go home and never return are characters that share a certain attitude towards life and that is satisfying their need to live and eat; just like real life.

There is a moral to the story in these stories, for example, in the Tortoise and the Hare (pg 326) in 365 Stories and Rhymes Tales of Action and Adventure, “slow and steady wins the race”. The hare challenged the tortoise to a race and the hare thought he would win because he was faster than tortoise, and so tortoise was racing with hare and hare thought that tortoise would never catch up and so he takes a nap and then tortoise made it to the river from the old oak tree first. Hare was upset and kept explaining that he was faster than tortoise, but no one would have it because it wasn’t who was fastest but who made it to the river first.

In the Little Mermaid (pg 10) in 365 Stories and Rhymes Tales of Magic and Wonder, she had to wait until she was fifteen to swim to the surface. She had to be patient, just like the tortoise and expect great things knowing they would get to where they were going. These two stories have happy endings, as well as that of Molly Whuppie, who ends up marrying the king’s son by stealing for him and going to the giant’s house multiple times; but neither the tortoise nor the little mermaid stole to get a happy ending. And in the Three Little Pigs, the pigs also get a happy ending, being able to live together, the three pig brothers, in a brick house, that was neither straw, or sticks. The wolf left them alone, just like Goldilocks left the bear's house to never return. The difference here being that goldilocks didn’t have any bad intentions and the wolf meant to break down the houses and eat the three little pigs.

In conclusion, all the stories share similarities and differences. I mentioned a couple and I know there are more connections to this reality than we first get from reading the stories. There are good people, bad people, just as there are good and bad animals or magical creatures. Their moral judgment is judged by us and we can make connections to find solutions to solve some problems that we face or hear about from people or sources thus forming relationships. These relationships are ships that sail the horizon in mischief, solidarity, and action. These stories are written in a way that the challenges the characters face resemble our reality and in some cases exaggerate our world along with our expectation to give us something to look forward to. This being done by either patience, intelligence, and/or pride.

Source

365 Stories and Rhymes Tales of Magic and Wonder

The Little Mermaid pg 10

Goldilocks and the Three Bears pg 56

365 Stories and Rhymes Tales of Action and Adventure

The Three Little Pigs pg 306
The Tortoise and the Hare pg 326

English Fairytale: Molly Whuppie

Back to Elementary Math

The world seems to open up when you restore your faith in yourself. I mean, I studied and taught myself fourth grade math. I learned about solving fractions and long division using the vocabulary: standard algorithm, place value disk model, etc.. I feel like I know math. I didn't understand any of the methods when I was in elementary, middle, and high school. I knew about math, obviously, and I was able to solve problems, like, I remembered "the hundred's place", multiplication, decimals, etc., but I never learned about the place value chart. My niece has a problem doing her homework if it's not taught and explained using the same methods her teacher uses in class. I get those certain methods now that were not used to teach me. I never thought I would be tutoring and needing to capture math again. I've been tutoring my niece and I watched the videos on YouTube, as she watched them in class and knew she would appreciate my understanding of her. I enjoyed the videos, the math, and now, her thinking. It's true. It makes me happy. I hope you all get the pleasure I get reeducating myself to help another that's in need. I took college algebra and aced, but solving basic multiplication, division, and subtraction gave me another slice of cake. Math is delicious when you can solve.

The Rocks Of the World

I wrote this song about the rock cycle.

It's my niece's extra credit and I had so much fun writing it.

She contributed to it too.

The Rocks Of the World

(To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)

The rocks of the world,

Accumulate and form,

Accumulate and form,

Accumulate and form,

The rocks of the world,

Accumulate and form,

All around the world!

The rocks of the world,

Transform and change,

Transform and change,

Transform and change,

The rocks of the world,

Transform and change,

All around the world!

The rocks of the world,

Melt and form,

Melt and form,

Melt and form,

The rocks of the world,

Melt and form,

All around the world!

The rocks of the world,

Have names,

Have names,

Names names names,

Names names names,

The rocks of the world,

Have names names names,

And they are all by name:

Sedimentary!

Metamorphic!

Igneous!

Freaks

I left it and she picked it up.
I got scared and she was fine.
Why does she collect my thoughts?
I'm at a loss for words,
distraught.
Why does she bring so much pain?
I exist in another plane.
Can you figure out my math?
Am I just another act?
Lights, darkness, physical shame,
Blaming the parts that sing in the rain,
You are me and I am you,
Stuck forever like with common glue.
He could leave me pregnant
and she chooses,
Life is nothing but an illusion,
Freaks alert in the snow,
Blow my nose,
I remember the whore.

By: Brandy Ruiz

Hit Up the Store

I'm gonna go clothes shopping tomorrow. I want to buy jeans. Maybe a top. But I'm mostly focused on my bottom half. I want boots. I hope they have my size. Is it so damn hard to have an 11 or 12 women's size boots available? Sometimes this world has me wondering. Pants should be below the breast, above the belly button and tight on the thighs and hips. I should design some. Until then, I just have to score.

Cardi B - Bodak Yellow [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

The first I heard of Cardi B was with her song "Bodak Yellow."
This blog post will lightly show her progression.
Here: More Cardi B Videos

I love Cardi B. She was a stripper, like my sister. She's powerful. She knows what she's talking about. I think people will learn to respect her. Especially since she went to sing in Spanish. You know, showing out. I can understand the struggle. I wish them both of love and luck. They both make money moves in their red bottom bloody shoes.


Ozuna- La Modelo Ft Cardi B

Be sweet!! It works and it makes you a top notch bitch.


Migos, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B- MotorSport

Nicki Minaj doesn't top Cardi B's success.


Bruno Mars- Finesse (Remix) Feat. Cardi B

I gotta say, she did her dirty and now is reaping the goods with Bruno Mars.

Electric Scooter

I took my nieces to the park today. We walked to it. It was about three blocks from the house. They rode on their electrical scooters and I carried the bag of snacks and water. We hung out for an hour and walked back. It wasn't as easy walking back because I dragged Megan's scooter all the way home. She crashed it at the park so the wheel got stuck and it was a pain to walk home. I tugged at it. I rolled with it. I pulled and dragged. I switched arms. I walked with it, side to side. The girls walked ahead of me and I was way behind carrying the damn thing.